Arizona Legislature

Reading the latest news out of Arizona on gay rights brings an image to mind: Jim Crow . The Arizona Legislature on Thursday approved a law that would allow a business owner to refuse service to a gay customer if doing so would violate the practice of the owner's religion. So, as our colleague Cindy Carcamo writes from Tucson , a baker could refuse to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple if her faith proscribes homosexuality. Further, a hotel owner with similar beliefs could deny a room to traveling lesbians.

Re "A clear message in Arizona veto," News Analysis, Feb. 28 The Times explains the motives behind Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's veto of the anti-gay bill recently passed by the state's legislature. Prominent Republicans urged Brewer to veto the bill because of the need to focus on the economy rather than divisive social issues, which could hurt the party in the November midterm elections. What they didn't make a big deal about was that the bill was bad because it was mean-spirited and bigoted.

TUCSON -- Say a gay couple in Phoenix walks into a bakery to order their wedding cake. The baker refuses to take their order because of his deeply held religious beliefs. Under a measure that passed the Arizona Legislature this week, the baker would have greater protection to invoke religion to shield himself from a discrimination lawsuit. The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday and the GOP-led House on Thursday, would bolster a business owner's right to refuse service to gays and others if the owner believes doing so violates the practice and observance of his or her religion.

By design, the pulse of spring training beats slowly. That's why, in the world's current era of discontent and vitriol, it has become even more appealing. It would be nice to think that everything going on is right before us, plain as the nose on our face. It would be nice to think the only things that mattered Wednesday were Angels picture day, Josh Hamilton's sore leg and Mike Trout's new contract. Same with the Dodgers -- that their spring opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks and getting the kinks out for their early regular-season start in Australia were their only thoughts.

While most of the recent sports news centered around the Raiders hiring a new coach and the Winter Olympics, another story stood out in my mind: The cruel and sick way some Arizona State fans treated Steve Kerr. It is totally disgusting and inexcusable. If this is the kind of youth our country is raising nowadays, we're in trouble. Instead of impeaching Governor Meachem, maybe the Arizona legislature should be impeaching the Arizona State student body. KENNETH L. ZIMMERMAN Cypress

TUCSON - A federal judge has given opponents of Arizona's sweeping anti-illegal-immigration law access to emails, letters and memos between supporters of SB 1070 and legislators to see whether there are racial overtones in the messages. In December, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix rejected arguments made by two of the law's supporters, who maintained that communications sent to lawmakers who created and supported SB 1070 were confidential. Challengers to SB 1070 called Bolton's ruling a victory because their lawsuit was based partly on allegations that legislators meant to discriminate against Latinos and other people of color.

I was pleased to read Bettijane Levine's article about the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet ("Our Life of Prayer," Nov. 22). Levine did a great job portraying this rare group of women, as did Wally Skalij's beautiful, impressionistic photo that accompanied the article. The article led me to reminisce about Sister Clare Dunn, a member of this religious order who served as a state legislator in Arizona in the 1970s. I had the honor of attending a class on social justice from Sister Clare at that time, and her influence has stayed with me through the years.

The Oakland Athletics put catcher Kurt Suzuki on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a strained muscle in his side, and optioned outfielder Matt Carson to triple A. Suzuki was put on the disabled list retroactive to April 24. Left-hander Trevor Cahill was added to the roster to start against the Blue Jays on Friday, in place of left-hander Brett Anderson (elbow), and catcher Josh Donaldson's contract was purchased from triple A. Pitcher Joey Devine (right elbow)

Re "A clear message in Arizona veto," News Analysis, Feb. 28 The Times explains the motives behind Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's veto of the anti-gay bill recently passed by the state's legislature. Prominent Republicans urged Brewer to veto the bill because of the need to focus on the economy rather than divisive social issues, which could hurt the party in the November midterm elections. What they didn't make a big deal about was that the bill was bad because it was mean-spirited and bigoted.

By design, the pulse of spring training beats slowly. That's why, in the world's current era of discontent and vitriol, it has become even more appealing. It would be nice to think that everything going on is right before us, plain as the nose on our face. It would be nice to think the only things that mattered Wednesday were Angels picture day, Josh Hamilton's sore leg and Mike Trout's new contract. Same with the Dodgers -- that their spring opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks and getting the kinks out for their early regular-season start in Australia were their only thoughts.

Reading the latest news out of Arizona on gay rights brings an image to mind: Jim Crow . The Arizona Legislature on Thursday approved a law that would allow a business owner to refuse service to a gay customer if doing so would violate the practice of the owner's religion. So, as our colleague Cindy Carcamo writes from Tucson , a baker could refuse to sell a wedding cake to a gay couple if her faith proscribes homosexuality. Further, a hotel owner with similar beliefs could deny a room to traveling lesbians.

TUCSON -- Say a gay couple in Phoenix walks into a bakery to order their wedding cake. The baker refuses to take their order because of his deeply held religious beliefs. Under a measure that passed the Arizona Legislature this week, the baker would have greater protection to invoke religion to shield himself from a discrimination lawsuit. The bill, approved by the Republican-controlled Senate on Wednesday and the GOP-led House on Thursday, would bolster a business owner's right to refuse service to gays and others if the owner believes doing so violates the practice and observance of his or her religion.

TUCSON - A federal judge has given opponents of Arizona's sweeping anti-illegal-immigration law access to emails, letters and memos between supporters of SB 1070 and legislators to see whether there are racial overtones in the messages. In December, U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton in Phoenix rejected arguments made by two of the law's supporters, who maintained that communications sent to lawmakers who created and supported SB 1070 were confidential. Challengers to SB 1070 called Bolton's ruling a victory because their lawsuit was based partly on allegations that legislators meant to discriminate against Latinos and other people of color.

Mary Beth Ginter never once voted for President George W. Bush, but she read aloud from his 2001 inaugural address with distinct enthusiasm here Saturday. "America has never been united by blood birth or soil," she said into the microphone on the concrete plaza at Pima Community College. "We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens.... And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American.

Wedge issues are the rhetorical enablers of the bitterly partisan politics that have disfigured our national conversation in recent years. They're the controversial questions on which significant numbers of voters hold views that admit no compromise or nuanced disagreement. Candidates raise them to divide their constituents and to morally discredit their opponents. Abortion is a classic wedge issue, but of declining electoral utility, since roughly equal numbers of voters hold strong views on both sides of the matter.

I saw my first Lakers game as a boy, when my late father took me to watch the team play the Cincinnati Royals at the old Sports Arena. I was hooked for life, and though I have an indefensibly immoderate fondness for nearly all sports, the Lakers remain, for me, a team apart. At least they were. I can't bring myself to root against the Lakers in their current playoff series with the Phoenix Suns, but neither can I support them — unless the club formally repudiates Coach Phil Jackson's endorsement of Arizona's mean-spirited new anti-immigrant law. Jackson's support for the Arizona statute, which can only be enforced through impermissible racial profiling of Latinos, came to light on the eve of Monday's first game in the series.

As healthcare reform legislation advances in Congress, more state lawmakers are looking for ways to limit its effects on their constituents. At the front of the pack is the Arizona Legislature, which agreed to put a constitutional amendment on next year's ballot that would provide three new rights to its citizenry: to obtain coverage from a private insurer, to buy healthcare services with their own funds directly from doctors and hospitals, and to...

I saw my first Lakers game as a boy, when my late father took me to watch the team play the Cincinnati Royals at the old Sports Arena. I was hooked for life, and though I have an indefensibly immoderate fondness for nearly all sports, the Lakers remain, for me, a team apart. At least they were. I can't bring myself to root against the Lakers in their current playoff series with the Phoenix Suns, but neither can I support them — unless the club formally repudiates Coach Phil Jackson's endorsement of Arizona's mean-spirited new anti-immigrant law. Jackson's support for the Arizona statute, which can only be enforced through impermissible racial profiling of Latinos, came to light on the eve of Monday's first game in the series.

The Phoenix Suns will wear "Los Suns" on their jerseys in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals on Wednesday night, owner Robert Sarver said, "to honor our Latino community and the diversity of our league, the state of Arizona, and our nation." The decision to wear the jerseys on the Cinco de Mayo holiday stems from a law passed by the Arizona Legislature and signed by Gov. Jan Brewer that has drawn widespread criticism from Latino organizations and civil rights groups that say it could lead to racial profiling of Latinos.

The Oakland Athletics put catcher Kurt Suzuki on the 15-day disabled list Friday because of a strained muscle in his side, and optioned outfielder Matt Carson to triple A. Suzuki was put on the disabled list retroactive to April 24. Left-hander Trevor Cahill was added to the roster to start against the Blue Jays on Friday, in place of left-hander Brett Anderson (elbow), and catcher Josh Donaldson's contract was purchased from triple A. Pitcher Joey Devine (right elbow)